Advantages of Perfectly Ordered 2-D Porous Pillar Arrays over Packed Bed Columns for LC Separations: A Theoretical Analysis

A series of theoretical calculations is presented to quantify the gain in LC separation efficiency that can be expected if the traditionally used packed bed columns were replaced by columns with a perfectly ordered flow-through pore network. It is shown that a perfectly ordered 2-D array of porous cylindrical pillars could yield reduced plate heights as small as h = 0.65 (for k"= 0.75) to h = 0.85 (for k"= 2) and separation impedances as small as E = 200 (for k"= 0.75) to E = 300 (for k"= 2) without having to compromise on the porosity ((epsilon) = 0.4) and the retention capacity of the packed bed of spheres. Fitting the calculated van Deemter plots with Knoxʹs equation especially shows a strong decrease of the A-term contribution, hence confirming that the improved column performance indeed stems from the increased homogeneity of the packing. The presented results, hence, provide a clear quantitative support for Knoxʹs recent argumentation that the use of more uniform beds could greatly enhance the efficiency of pressure-driven LC.